There is a need in industry today to provide a detergent solution that is ready to use when mixed and that is made from solid cast detergent. Solid cast detergent is essentially detergent that is in solid form and cast in a preferably pliable, plastic container; it is effectively a bar of soap in a plastic container. Removal is typically done by dissolving the detergent in place in the container with a jet of water.
There are a number of advantages to using solid cast detergent as compared to liquid detergent. The first is safety. Since the detergent is cast inside of a container it is virtually impossible for personnel to come in contact with the detergent until it has been diluted. The U.S. Department of Transportation recognizes such detergent as safe to ship. If there is an accident, there is no liquid spillage to contaminate the ground water in the immediate area. The containers, even if cracked by the accident, retain the detergent and may simply be retrieved.
The concentration that is possible with solid cast detergent provides additional advantages. Such detergent is typically 100% detergent material as opposed to liquid detergent which is between 40% and 5% detergent, with the remainder being water. A single capsule of solid detergent can do the same work as six to seven gallons of typical liquid detergent. A related advantage is the compactness of solid detergents that provides benefits when storing the detergent, shipping detergent, and when handling the detergent. The dramatic reduction in storage space is especially attractive to relatively small commercial establishments such as gas stations and fast food restaurants that have very little space to devote to storing cleaning supplies. Freight costs are also dramatically reduced since the cost of shipping water is eliminated. Other handling costs are also reduced since, for equal cleaning potential, substantially less weight and volume is being handled as compared to liquid detergent.
Another advantage of solid cast detergent is that it has an essentially indefinite shelf life. Very little can occur that can change the character of the product over time.
Solid cast detergents are more environmentally sound than liquid detergents. Studies have shown that "bag-in-a-box" and five gallon pail packaging of liquid detergent actually have approximately four to five ounces of detergent left when the package is considered empty and therefore is discarded. Raw detergent is accordingly dumped into landfills when liquid detergent packages are discarded. Solid cast detergents use approximately one sixth the volume of empty containers as a liquid system of equal cleaning capacity, and solid cast detergent containers are usually thoroughly rinsed of all detergent by water jet action before being discarded or recycled.
A further requirement of detergent dispensers is that the dispenser should preferably provide a ready to use solution. This requirement is a major concern for many commercial establishments. The portion of the labor pool that is utilized for cleaning functions is typically the lower skilled and less educated portion. Training of these employees is difficult and expensive. The fact that the solution is ready to use minimizes the training that is required for proper usage.
Another aspect of the training issue is that the dispenser should have a minimum number of controls and control operations necessary to obtain a bucket of properly mixed detergent solution. Ideally, the turning of a single valve would provide the solution.
Reliability is another desirable characteristic of a detergent dispenser. A minimum number of moving parts should be provided to minimize maintenance. The dispenser should also be small and be capable of being mounted on the wall, since the storage area for cleaning equipment in most commercial establishments is very small.
In the past, liquid detergent dispensers have been available that dispense a ready to use detergent solution. Additionally, solid cast detergent dispensers have been available. Conventional solid cast detergent dispensers, however, dispense concentrated solutions that must then be properly diluted by maintenance personnel.
A use for such detergent dispensers is in the cleansing the floors of food preparation facilities such as packing plants. In such uses, the outlet of the detergent dispenser is connected to a relatively long hose. The hose has a manually operable detergent solution nozzle at its end. An operator walks through the facility spraying the detergent and water solution as needed. Such operation involves frequent cycling actuation of the detergent solution nozzle. The detergent dispenser must be responsive to such on and off cycles. In order to prevent overflows of concentrated detergent, the water to the spray nozzle that is directed at the solid cast detergent must be turned off essentially simultaneously with the operator turning off the manually operated detergent solution nozzle.
In certain facilities, including packing plants, there are strict safety regulations that prevent the use of electricity in conjunction with cleaning operations. Accordingly, it would be very useful to be able to shut off the flow to the spray nozzle simultaneously with shutting off the detergent solution nozzle without using electricity.
In view of the foregoing, it would be a decided advantage to have a detergent dispenser that utilizes a solid cast detergent and that can discharge a ready to use concentration of detergent solution.